


Left Behind

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Light Angst, M/M, Maria POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-17 02:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21046883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: The group scatters after Max dies until only Maria is left behind.In hindsight, it made sense. Roswell was home, for all of them, but that didn’t mean it was safe. At the time, of course, it felt like one hit after another and Maria wasn’t sure how she would survive.





	1. Roswell Exodus

In hindsight, it made sense. Roswell was home, for all of them, but that didn’t mean it was safe. At the time, of course, it felt like one hit after another and Maria wasn’t sure how she would survive. 

Liz was first. Or, more accurately, Rosa was first. Waking up from a decade long coma to the realization that the world thought you were dead and hated you for it would be a shock for anyone. For Rosa, it was the last straw. She’d always been planning to leave, had been trying to leave when Noah-via-Isobel killed her. To her credit, she made it almost two weeks in 2019 before she split, stealing Liz’s car and leaving Roswell in her rearview mirror. 

Maria had barely gotten over the shock of seeing Rosa alive (and learning that aliens were real and had both tried to kill her  _ and _ revived her) before Liz was hugging her tightly and apologizing profusely. She’d lost her sister once, like hell was she going to do it again. Less than a day after Rosa left, Liz piled her stuff into Max’s car and took off after her. 

The next one surprised her more than she’d thought possible. Rosa Ortecho, alive and well? She could (eventually) wrap her mind around that. Michael Guerin packing up his truck and his Airstream and leaving Roswell? That was somehow harder. Guerin had been her constant. While Liz and Alex had left, Guerin had always been there, ever present and utterly dependable in his own weird way. Maria wasn’t sure she’d ever forget the image of him driving his trailer past the Welcome to Roswell sign. 

He didn’t plan on coming back. He hadn’t actually said those words when he told her was leaving but she didn’t need to be a psychic to see that. Roswell held too many painful memories and not enough good ones. 

With Guerin gone, Maria supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised that Isobel followed not long after. Of course, she said she wasn’t actually following him, something about them each needing to find their own paths, but she didn’t stick around town for long after he was gone. She packed up her house, setting a spectacular bonfire of all of Noah’s things in the process, and sold her house. She gave Maria her phone number and email address in case something alien happened and she needed to get in touch but she didn’t leave a forwarding mailing address. Maria suspected that was because Isobel had no idea where she was going. She was probably going to get in her car and drive until she didn’t see her abusive ex-husband or Max’s ghost around every corner. 

It was a stressful month, to say the least. In 30 days, Maria went from maybe starting a relationship with her best friend’s ex to finding out aliens were real and one of her oldest friends in the world was alive and well after a decade, to losing the people she’d unexpectedly grown closest to. The only ones left in Roswell with her were Kyle Valenti and Alex. And she and Alex weren’t speaking. 

It would have made sense in high school for her and Kyle to be friends. He dated her best friend for almost three years, after all, but they’d never been close. It was strange, being close to 30 and finally getting to see just what it was Liz had seen in that dick of a teenager Kyle had been. He was actually a pretty cool guy, Maria was happy to find out.

It made his departure a month after Isobel’s hurt all the worse. She knew the second he walked into the Pony that night that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. His aura was shrouded in guilt but also exquisite happiness. Between that and his face, she knew before he opened his mouth that he was leaving, too.

“Where to next, Dr. Valenti?” She plastered a smile on her face as she served him his usual without waiting for him to order.

He glanced at the drink and then her face and smiled crookedly. “Nigeria, first, I think.”

Maria arched an eyebrow in question.

“I was accepted to work with Doctors Without Borders. I need to leave within the week.” As he spoke, he couldn’t quite keep the smile off his face, his lips turning upwards almost against his will and Maria couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“Kyle, that’s awesome.” She reached across the bar to squeeze his hand. “I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks, Maria.” His smile was bright against the slight gloom in the bar. “I’m sorry to leave you here-”

Maria waved him off. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Always am,” she added cheekily. His smile turned a little sad but she wouldn’t let it drop. “So. Tell me all about it. When did you hear about it?”

She let him prattle on happily about his new job and the next week she gave him a proper send off, on the house. He sent her a lovely worded text very early the next morning that told her he both appreciated and resented the night. In other words, it was perfect.

And then there were two.

It was strange to think that she and Alex had once been as close as siblings. She’d known that kissing Michael would be a mistake but she hadn’t fully understand the ramifications until she’d lost Alex. Oh, he was always friendly and polite when they crossed paths, but the warmth and close friendship they’d once shared was gone. Maria had hope that the one silver lining to finding out everyone had been lying to her for months and then losing them one by one would be that she and Alex could bond again but that hadn’t happened.

In the month following Isobel’s departure, Maria only ever saw him for more than a second when he was with Kyle. They’d come into the Pony some nights and he’d make friendly conversation but he always kept his distance, emotionally speaking. Even his aura was closed off to her. After Kyle left, it was like Alex became a ghost. He didn’t come into the Pony anymore and she never saw him in passing around town. If she hadn’t overheard someone mentioning seeing him in the grocery store, she might’ve thought he’d left to.

But he couldn’t. The one good part about his military service, Maria struggled to think, was that he was obligated to stay in Roswell until he was discharged. 

It was almost two months after Kyle left, over three since Rosa came back to life and everyone fled Roswell like it was on fire, when Maria put on her big girl pants and drove out to Sheriff Valenti’s old hunting cabin. She’d had to ask Kyle where Alex lived and if that wasn’t an indication of how lackluster of an attempt they’d made to reconnect when Alex moved home, she didn’t know what was. Even before Michael came between them, they hadn’t been the friends they once were and Maria missed him.

The truck parked next to the cabin was standing with its doors flung open and the trunk half full of boxes when Maria drove up. She fingered the bottle of tequila in the passenger seat before leaving it there as she got out of the car. 

The front door to the cabin was wide open and she could hear someone moving around inside. Grunts and curses filled the air as Alex came stumbling through the door, a large box in his hands. Maria waited as he shuffled over to his car and added the box to the load.

“Hey,” she greeted softly when his hands were free. Alex tensed but didn’t look to startled so she assumed he’d heard her pull up. “Going somewhere?”

Alex sighed and nodded, turning towards her with a blank expression. “New posting.”

Maria blinked in surprise. “What? You’re being relocated? I thought your service was up?”

“It was,” he admitted slowly. “And then I re-upped. Turns out they don’t need me in Roswell so I have a week to report to my new posting. Which is not in New Mexico.” He turned away and disappeared into the house. Maria followed before she could think better of it.

“You’re leaving?” Maria asked, needing him to say it again for some reason.

“Yes.” 

Maria opened her mouth to say something then closed it again when she realized she didn’t have anything to say. Alex didn’t pause in his movements. He moved slowly but surely through the living room and kitchen, piling the last of his things into boxes and taping them up. 

“Were you going to tell me?” Maria’s voice wavered and she cleared her throat. “Or was I going to find out you were gone too by coming out to an empty cabin?”

Alex chuckled. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. “Why would you be coming out here? I’ve been back over a year and you’ve never come by. Not once. I didn’t even think you knew where I was living, honestly.” Maria looked away, unwilling to admit she’d had to email Kyle for his address. Liz hadn’t known either when she’d asked her. “But yes, I was going to tell you. I was planning to stop by the Wild Pony on my way out of town.”

“Oh. That’s g-,” Maria cleared her throat. “Thank you. I guess.”

“Everyone else is gone,” Alex commented idly as he taped up another box. “Didn’t want to disappear without a word. Just in case you might-” He stopped.

“Might what?” Maria asked. “Worry?” She barked out a harsh laugh. “Do you honestly think I wouldn’t worry if you were gone? Hell, I’ve been worried about you since you left for Basic Training ten years ago. I thought we were coming up on the end of my having to worry about you. But no, you had to go sign up for more!” Alex didn’t turn around and it only stoked her anger. “Why the hell would you go back for more, Alex?”

“Why not?” He didn’t quite shrug. “Being in the military gives me access to the Project Shepherd files and the means to dig deeper.” Maria had to wrack her brain for a moment to remember what Project Shepherd was before remembering the massive government conspiracy into Michael and his family. 

“You’re doing this for Michael.” Maria had meant for it to be a question but it came out a statement. 

Alex paused in his movements. “Partly,” he agreed. “But I’m also doing it to undo every evil thing my family’s ever done. And because I didn’t have any particular reason not to do it.” He straightened up and turned to face her. “Look, why are you here Maria? Is there something you need?”

She stared at him for a beat before shaking her head and shrugging. “I miss you. I miss- I don’t know, I miss my friend. I know things got fucked up between us and I wanted to try and fix that.”

Alex nodded slowly. “Yeah. Things did get fucked. And- and I’d like to fix it too but I don’t think we can. At least not now.”

“So that’s it?” Maria swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat. She’d had breakups hurt less than this.

Alex ran a hand over his hair. “I don’t know, Maria. If I was staying in Roswell I’d say no, of course not, we’d fix it. But I’m leaving. And I don’t know where I’ll be posted next but I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be here.”

Maria nodded. “And after? Where will you go when your service is up? Or will you keep re-upping?”

“I don’t know. You’re asking me something that I probably won’t think about for another four years, at least.”

“Right. Sorry, I guess I don’t know. I guess I’m wondering if this is the last time we’ll ever see each other.” Maria wrapped her arms around her stomach, hugging herself lightly. “I don’t- I don’t want this to be the end of us, Alex. How can- how can we just be out of each other’s lives like this?”

Alex sat down heavily on a chair. “I don’t know, Maria.” Maria was really getting sick of hearing him say that. “I don’t feel like this is something we can fix through a phone. Maybe it’s better to just let it go. Remember the good times we had growing up.”

Maria breathed out through her nose. “I’m really fucking sick of having memories and shit else. I get- I get that Liz had to leave because of Rosa. Hell, I get that Kyle got a job he couldn’t say no to. I get that the Air Force tells you where to go and you can’t argue with that. Hell, I even get why Isobel freaking Evans split town. But what about me? Everyone’s so desperate to leave this town and all its bad memories behind while I’m still here. I’m still here and I get lumped in with the bad memories. And now you want to- to just- pretend we stopped being friends after high school?!” Maria closed her eyes. “I’m really sick of people leaving, Alex.”

Alex didn’t say anything. Eventually, she heard a shuffling sound as he got to his feet and started walking. Maria pressed her eyes closer together so she wouldn’t have to watch him walk out the door and leave her to her tears.

The arms that wrapped around her shoulders were a surprise but Maria didn’t dwell on that. She just sank into Alex’s embrace and buried her face in his shoulder as he hugged her tight.

“Y’know,” Alex began quietly after a while. “You’re not the first to point out I have a history of leaving and not staying in touch.” He paused. “I’m trying this new thing I like to call not being a shitty friend. I’m not great at it, admittedly. But I’m willing to try. If you want to.”

She nodded into his shoulder. “I do. We’re probably going to suck at it. At least at first.”

  
“Probably,” he agreed. “But we’re quick learners, right?”

“Right.” Her voice sounded firmer than she felt.

Alex left not long after that. Turns out, she’d shown up on his literal last day in Roswell and he couldn’t stick around or he wouldn’t make it to his next posting in time. Maria broke out the tequila and they toasted farewell to the cabin and then she helped him load up the last of his boxes before watching him drive away.


	2. A final resurrection

It’s four years before Maria sees most of them again. Four years of rebuilding her life with the newfound knowledge that humans are not alone in the universe, not alone on their own planet. 

In the wake of everything that had happened, Maria settled. She had done this before, when Liz and Alex left the first time. Sure, then she’d had Guerin but not really. Not in the early years, at least. And this time was different. This time, Liz and Alex both made a concerted effort to stay in touch. And when they didn’t, Maria picked up the slack.

Last time around Maria had let them fall apart, feeling that it was better for her friends to move on with their lives with Roswell (and her) in their past. This time, she held on for dear life, unwilling to let them all fall apart once again.

She wasn’t sure how much everyone kept in touch with each other, but Maria held on to everyone. There were weekly phone calls with Liz and constant social media updates from Rosa (the woman took to 2019 like a duck to water) while she and Alex exchanged emails and text messages with reassuring frequency. Kyle also sent the occasional email, less often than Alex did but more often than she’d expected, and they’d even skyped a few times. Maria was never sure where he would be calling from but it didn’t matter. The one constant she saw was the glow on Kyle’s face as he dedicated himself to work he loved.

Michael was more complicated. They’d talked. More in the first year than in the fourth while they worked things out but they hadn’t lost touch, not like she’d expected when she watched him drive away. He’d taken to road tripping the country, never staying in one place for more than a few days. Part of her wanted to call him back to Roswell to settle down, not for her, but because she knew he felt a tie to the town that she was fairly confident he’d never found anywhere else. 

Maria was pondering her last phone conversation with Michael as she ran a few errands before she had to open the Wild Pony. He’d been flustered, excited about something that he tried to explain in half sentences, his thoughts running faster than his mouth could form the words. She’d tried to get him to explain but he’d just mumbled an apology and hung up. It had been a few days since then and Maria was pulling out her phone to call him back when she stopped dead in the middle of the street, her eyes caught on a truck driving away from her. It was a beat up old blue thing with a shiny Airstream attached to the back. 

No one in Roswell had an Airstream. Not anymore. And no one drove _ that _ blue truck.

A car honk startled her into remembering where she was and she quickly finished crossing the street. Her car was only a few blocks away and she practically ran to it as she called Michael’s number.

He didn’t answer. She called again as she got into her car and pulled out of the lot, following the direction Michael had driven in. She wasn’t sure where he was going (Sander’s was the opposite direction) so she just drove and hoped she would catch sight of him.

When Michael didn’t answer her second call, Maria groaned and called Isobel. Strangely enough, Isobel was the only person Maria had actually seen since Roswell’s mass exodus. Ann Evans was a formidable woman and, in the aftermath of Max’s disappearance, had called Isobel back to Roswell from where she’d settled in Albuquerque. Isobel never stayed for long but she made up for it by making frequent trips. She averaged a few days a month in Roswell and had for years. With everyone else gone, she and Maria had ended up spending more and more time together. Recently, that time together had included fewer and fewer clothes. 

They still hadn’t exactly talked about what they were doing but one of their big don’t’s was that they didn’t call each other. Maria waited breathlessly to see if Isobel would even answer her call.

“Is someone dying?” Isobel answered just as Maria suspected the call was going to go to voicemail.

“I don’t know. You tell me. What could bring Michael back to Roswell?” 

Isobel scoffed. “Nothing. Michael said he’s never going back.”

“Well then someone stole his truck and his Airstream and decided to come for a visit.”

There was a pause. “Michael’s _ in Roswell _?” Maria heard a sudden flurry of motion over the phone as Isobel started to gather her things. Her keys jingled loudly as she scooped them up.

Maria let out a breath. “Apparently. I saw his truck drive by while I was out running errands and by the time I got back to my car I’d lost him but I’m looking for him now. I tried calling him but he’s not picking up.”

“Try either Foster Ranch or Max,” Isobel instructed. “I’m getting in my car now. I’ll be there in about 3 hours.” She paused. “Look. Michael wouldn’t just come back to Roswell. Hell, he wouldn’t cross the state line without telling me or coming through Alburquerque so if he _ is _ there, then that means something wrong.”

“I know,” Maria assured her gently. “I’ll give you a call when I find him.”

“Thank you.”

Maria hung up and turned towards the turquoise mines. What had once been Foster Ranch was now a small Air Force base and Maria doubted that Michael would come all the way home just to break into a military installation. Not when he could go see his brother.

Her car wasn’t built for the kind of off-roading it took to get right up to the entrance of the mine but then, neither was the Airstream. Maria let out a sigh of relief when she pulled up and parked alongside it. She took a quick look around to make sure Michael wasn’t in the trailer before she took off towards the entrance. She had been out here a couple of times in the past few years, sometimes with Isobel, sometimes without, and she knew the way easily. 

The beat up wooden door they stuck over the entrance was laying on its side and Maria stepped gingerly over it. 

“Michael?” She called as she crept through the narrow passageway, following the brilliant glow of the pods. There was no answer but her steps didn’t falter. He was in here. She knew it.

“Hey,” she greeted softly when she entered the cavern to see him crouching in front of Max’s pod. His hair was a bit longer, a bit more golden, and his clothes were about as clean as she’d ever seen them but other than that he looked the same as he did the day he left. He glanced over his shoulder at her and gave her a small smile.

“Hey Maria,” he turned back to Max’s pod and fiddled with something in his hands. “How’d you know I was here?”

“Saw you drive through town. I tried to call you but you didn’t answer so I called Isobel and she said you would probably come out here.”

Michael chuckled. “Guess I’m getting predictable in my old age.”

Maria scoffed. “I’m older than you, asshole, careful with that age talk.”

Michael glanced over at her with a grin and she couldn’t help but respond. “What are you doing here, Michael?”

“Where’s Izzy?” He asked instead of replying.

“She got in her car when I called so she’s probably about two and a half hours out, I’d guess.”

“Perfect.” Michael stood up and brushed some of the dirt off of his knees. There was a brilliant smile on his face that Maria was sure she’d never seen before. “Time for a drink or two first, then.” He swung an arm out towards the entrance. “After you.”

Maria looked from him to the entrance and arched an eyebrow in question.

Michael laughed. “I’ll explain once Izzy’s here, I promise. Until then…”

“Fine,” Maria huffed and led the way out. “One drink on the house but the rest you’re paying for.”

“You’re too generous, DeLuca.”

Michael left his truck at the mines and hopped into Maria’s passenger seat without a word. Maria accepted it and turned towards town.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone you were coming?” 

Michael shrugged, his curls fluttering wildly in the wind from the open window. “Didn’t really have time. As soon as I knew I was coming back I just did. I didn’t stop to think about calling and letting anyone know.”

“You drove here,” Maria pointed out. “Where the hell were you coming from that you didn’t have time to call while you were driving?”

“Hey, talking while driving is bad,” Michael winked and Maria laughed. “I don’t know. I just sort of had a one track mind on getting to Max as soon as possible and everything else just went out the window, I guess.”

Maria left it at that and they made idle chitchat the rest of the drive. Even though they spoke fairly often, there was still a lot for them to catch up on.

“Wait,” Maria stopped him in the middle of a story as they walked into the bar. “You’ve seen Alex? When?”

“Two days ago,” a new voice answered. Both of their heads snapped up and towards the bar where Alex was perched on a stool, his right leg resting on the stool next to him and beer pressed to his lips. “Before he took off like a bat out of hell without a fucking word.” He lowered the bottle with a glare at Michael.

“Wha- when did you get here?” Maria asked.

“How did you-?” Michael asked, his tone betraying his surprise even as his eyes lit up.

Alex rolled his eyes. “You’re not a mystery, Guerin.” Alex took a sip and dropped his leg as he turned to face them fully. Maria wanted to greet him but Michael stepped right up in between Alex’s legs and kissed him hello.

“Sorry I took off.” He kissed him again, his arms resting on Alex’s shoulders. “I should have told you I was leaving and what was going on.”

“Yes, you should have,” Alex grabbed onto Michael’s hip. “I get it, okay? Four years of work finally paid off and you got excited, but you don’t get to just up and disappear on me.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” They kissed again before Alex pushed Michael away and stood up to hug Maria.

“Hey,” he said softly as they squeezed each other tightly. When Alex had left, Maria had been afraid that they’d never get to this point again. But years of painful conversations had bridged the gap they’d let form between them and Alex was once again one of her closest friends.

“Hey, yourself,” she replied as she held on a little longer than necessary. When she pulled back she waved a hand between the two of them. “What’s with this?”

They looked at each other then at her. “What’s with what?” Alex asked.

Maria raised an eyebrow. “You two? When did this happen?”

They looked at each other again, more confusion on their faces. “Uh, what?” Michael asked.

“Depends on how you count it, I guess, but about three years?” Alex turned to her. “You knew this?”

Maria flinched in surprise. “Three years? No, I didn’t. You never said a word, either of you.”

“What are you talking about?” Michael asked. 

Maria looked between them, both convincingly bewildered. “Neither one of you has ever mentioned getting back together. I promise you, I would’ve remembered that. Alex, I thought you had a new boyfriend living with you?”

“Yeah, Guerin,” Alex waved a hand at Michael. “He moved in like a year ago.”

“What, I thought you were road-tripping?” Maria directed at Michael.

Michael shrugged. “Yeah, I was. Spent about a year driving all over until I ended up a few hours away from Alex and decided to go see him. After that, I circled back around every few weeks until I was at Alex’s more than I was on the road. I’ve only done a few trips in the last year or so since I parked the Airstream at the house.” He cocked his head. “I told you. We talked about me settling down in one place and not traveling as much anymore.”

Maria opened and closed her mouth a few times. “I thought you were talking about sometime in the future settling down.”

A slow smile spread across Alex’s face as Maria stared at the two of them. He turned to Michael as he started to chuckle. “I’m somewhat glad to learn we suck at communicating with everyone, not just each other.”

Maria huffed as Michael shrugged. “That explains a few of Isobel’s comments then.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Alex asked.

Maria shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s mentioned Michael a few times and said ‘them’ instead of just ‘him’. I thought I was mis-hearing her but I guess not.”

Michael hummed. “You spend a lot of time talking to my sister?” He kept his face stoic for a beat before a sly grin appeared that told her he knew exactly how much time she’d been spending with his sister. She huffed and ducked behind the bar without a word.

True to her word, Maria gave them each a drink on the house and the boys covered the rest. She slipped the closed sign over the front door to deter customers for the night but left the back door open for Isobel. When she joined them a few hours later she dropped her bags by the bar and made a beeline for Michael.

Michael only barely made it to his feet before she crashed into him in a big hug. Maria heard them mutter something to each other but she couldn’t make out the words. From what she knew from Isobel, it had been months since they’d seen each other and Maria and Alex headed to the bar to give them some space.

“So,” Alex started as Maria poured them each another drink and grabbed a bottle of wine for Isobel. “You and Izzy, huh?” Maria noted the nickname but didn’t comment. 

She shrugged and glanced up at Isobel. Her clothes made it obvious that she’d come straight from work but her hair was mussed like she’d spent the drive raking her fingers through it. 

Alex snorted and she looked back at him in question. He shook his head. “I know that look.”

“What look?”

“The one on your face.” He grabbed his and Michael’s drinks off the counter. “I see it in the mirror a lot when it comes to Michael.”

Maria flushed but didn’t answer as she grabbed hers and Isobel’s drinks and rounded the bar to say hello. When she got the table, Isobel had finally let go of Michael only to wrap Alex into a hug. This one didn’t last nearly as long and soon enough the four were all sitting down.

“Ok, spill,” Isobel ordered. “What the hell are you doing in Roswell?”

“I can bring Max back.”

Isobel froze and Maria reached for her instinctively. She knew how much Isobel had struggled to get over Max’s death, to heal and move on. Maria rubbed a hand up and down her back as she stared at Michael. “Are you serious?”

Michael nodded. “We all have access to all of our abilities. For whatever reason, the three of us just sort of latched on to one specific ability when we were young and we honed that instead of developing all of them but I’ve spent the last couple of years working on my telepathy and energy manipulation and I think I can do it. The only question was what state Max was in but I confirmed that this morning.”

“He’s dead.” Isobel’s voice was harsh but soft, like she couldn’t quite believe what they were talking about.

“No, he’s not.”

A hush fell over them as Maria and Isobel processed Michael’s words. “He didn’t have a pulse,” Maria objected gently.

“The pods are a sort of life preserver,” Alex announced quietly, apparently unwilling to disturb the mood. “They protected the three of you on your journey to Earth and after the crash. What they aren’t is a tomb. Nothing dead can enter the pod. If it does, the pod itself will die.”

“Max is in his pod, Isobel, and the pod is functioning perfectly,” Michael grabbed Isobel’s hand. “That means he’s alive and we can revive him. We can bring him back.”

Isobel covered her mouth with her free hand, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “We can bring him back?”

Michael nodded and Isobel let out a sob as she stood up, Michael rising to join her as they met in another hug.

“We can bring him back,” Maria marveled quietly as she watched the siblings. Alex made a noise in the back of his throat and she turned to look at him. “What?”

“Who’s calling Liz?”

\---

It was three days after Michael blew into town before Max Evans took his first breath in over four years. It involved a generator, more blood than Maria was comfortable with, and the absolute wrecking of both Michael and Isobel, but in the end Roswell once again had three living, perfectly healthy aliens.

Later, once Maria and Alex got Isobel and Michael comfortable so they could sleep off the power expenditure, Maria got to see her best friend reunited with the love of her life. She knew later that Liz would be furious with Max for what he’d done but right now she was too happy to be angry.

She smiled as she joined Rosa next to the fire. They’d all gathered at Max’s as it had the most bedrooms and Maria had spent the last few days with Michael and Alex cleaning it up while Isobel laid the groundwork with her mom and the town for Max’s imminent return. Liz and Rosa had shown up the day before.

Rosa was still a bit twitchy being back in Roswell but she was altogether calmer than Maria had ever seen her. The last few years had been really good for her.

“I think Liz is going to move back,” Rosa commented idly as she tore her gaze away from her sister. “No way she leaves McDreamy over there, not again.”

Maria hummed noncommittally. She wasn’t sure Max Evans was a McDreamy but she didn’t argue. She thought it was equally likely that Max left Roswell to join Liz and Rosa where they’d put down roots in California but she supposed Rosa might know better than her.

“So,” Rosa leaned back in her chair with a grin as Alex joined them a moment later. “You and Michael Guerin, huh?”

Alex laughed as he lowered himself carefully into a free chair. “Why are people so surprised by this? It wasn’t a secret.”

Maria snorted. “You two sure acted like it was.”

Rosa held up a hand. “Don’t look at me. We’ve talked, what, once? Since I woke up?”

Alex looked away as his cheeks flushed. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I should have reached out more.”

She waved him off. “It’s cool, Manes. You’ve got your own life now. No need to worry about me.”

“I wasn’t worried,” he assured her. “But I missed you while you were gone and I should have done more to stay in touch after you got back. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

Rosa cleared her throat. “Well, now you can do better.”

Alex smiled and nodded. “I will.”

“Hey,” Max’s gravelly tone surprised them as he and Liz walked slowly outside. Max was in considerably better shape than Isobel and Michael were but he wasn’t 100% yet. “I hear I missed a lot.”

“Eh,” Rosa replied. “You’ll catch up.” She winked at him over her beer as she took a sip.

Max smiled at her, his eyes still lighting up with surprise every time he saw her. Maria had never thought about how Max never knew if his efforts were successful. By all accounts, he’d passed out before Rosa ever woke up. He’d died not knowing if Rosa would live. Seeing her alive and well was probably a shock.

“How are you feeling?” Maria asked as Liz got him situated.

“Tired. Sore. Hungover.” Max smiled weakly. 

“I still think someone should check you over,” Liz told him as she grabbed a blanket. “Just to make sure everything’s okay.”

“Where exactly am I going to find a doctor?” 

“You called?” Everyone whirled around at the newcomer stepping out of the shadows around the corner of the house. 

“Kyle!” Four voices rang out in unison. Kyle chuckled as Rosa popped out of her chair and hurried over to hug him.

“Hey, little brother,” she greeted. Kyle rolled his eyes but hugged her back. When she released him, he quickly hugged Liz and Maria before bumping fists with Alex where he stayed in his chair.

“What are you doing here?” Liz asked. “I thought you were in Ghana or somewhere.”

“I was,” Kyle admitted. “But then I got Maria’s email about Roswell’s newest resurrection and I just assumed someone was going to need a doctor so I got some time off and flew back. Sorry I’m late.” He nodded solemnly at Max. “It’s good to see you, Max.”

“You too,” Max admitted. 

“You want me to do a quick check up?” Kyle asked.

“No, I’m fine,” Max protested.

“Yes!” Liz spoke over him. “Thanks, Kyle.”

Max shook his head at her but eventually nodded and allowed Kyle to help him up and inside the house, leaving the four old friends sitting by the fire.

“Remember when our lives were simple?” Liz pondered out loud.

Alex scoffed. “No.” Liz rolled her eyes while Maria and Rosa laughed. 

Liz hummed. “I do. It was so boring.”

“I don’t miss it,” Maria admitted. She’d had a rough adjustment to the whole aliens are real thing but she wouldn’t go back to not knowing. Ignorance isn’t always bliss.

“Well, I for one am very glad we have aliens among us,” Rosa held up her beer in a quick toast. “I probably would have self destructed anyway but without anyone around to give me a literal second chance.”

Liz reached out and tapped her beer to Rosa’s. “God bless aliens.”


End file.
